Waste Management Practices Adopted by Brazilian Companies Members of the Corporate Sustainability Index of the Stock Exchange

Abstract

This article demonstrates the practices and waste management policies (W MP), adopted by companies participating in the Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) of the state of the stock exchange in Sao Paulo, Brazil (BOVESPA). It also presents the results that these practices provided for these companies and for the environment. The study was conducted in the two companies with the highest sales in the year 2013 in the fields of power generation, financial institutions, water and wastewater, pulp and paper, telephony and highway concession. The search strategy was divided into five stages and through the 2013 year of sustainability reporting content analysis, it was found that companies that already have advanced and positive practices with respect to sustainability, serve as reference and stimulus for other companies adopt these concepts. The survey also found that companies in the electricity sector that have the same types of waste, have different management practices, a fact confirmed in telephone companies too, highway concessions and financial institutions. It also showed that the adoption of W MP practices provided advantages in terms of cost reduction and revenue growth for all companies surveyed and mostly, all these gains also reflected positive results for the environment and nature.